1. Communal Award (1932)
1.1. Background
1.2. Main Provisions
1.3. Congress Stand
1.4. Gandhi’s Response
1.5. Significance
1.6. Drawbacks
1.7. Conclusion
2. Poona Pact (1932)
2.1. Background
2.2. Main Provisions
2.3. Significance
2.4. Impact on Dalits
2.5. Joint Electorate and its impact on Depressed Classes
2.6. Conclusion
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Topic – Communal Award and Poona Pact (Notes)
Subject – Political Science
(Indian National Movement & Constitutional Development)
Table of Contents
Communal Award (1932)
The Communal Award was announced by British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald on August 16, 1932. It was based on the findings of the Indian Franchise Committee (also known as the Lothian Committee) and was intended to provide separate electorates in British India for the Forward Caste, Lower Caste, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, Europeans, and Untouchables (now known as the Dalits). It is also known as the ‘McDonald Award’.
Background
- The announcement of the Communal Award in August 1932 gave new expression to the British policy of “Divide and Rule.”
- The Award allotted a certain number of seats in legislatures to each minority, with each being elected by a separate electorate.
- Muslims would be elected only by Muslims, Sikhs would be elected only by Sikhs, and so on. Previously, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians had been marginalized.
- The Depressed Classes (today’s Scheduled Castes) were declared a minority community with their own electorate by the Award, effectively separating them from the rest of the Hindu community.
- The Congress opposed a separate electorate for Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians because it promoted the communal idea that they formed separate groups or communities with distinct interests from the rest of India.
- As a result, the Indian people became divided, preventing the development of common national consciousness.
- Congress, on the other hand, had agreed to a separate electorate for Muslims as part of a compromise with the Muslim League as early as 1916.
- Almost everywhere in India, mass meetings were held, and political leaders of various persuasions, such as Madam Mohan Malviya, B.R Ambedkar, and M.C Raja, became active.
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